


Trust

by aeriamamaduck



Series: Cyrodiil's Child [31]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: F/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 22:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7951630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriamamaduck/pseuds/aeriamamaduck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Guy takes a big step, and Minerva wonders what the future holds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust

Minerva looked at the piece dangling in front of her, nodding in appreciation of the craftsmanship. “That’s a pretty bauble. Where did you get it?”

Guy smiled nervously as he pulled the necklace close to him. “It’s an Amulet of Mara. It’s…what someone wears when they want to marry someone.”

That surprised her enough to make her look up from the shield she was polishing. Minerva regarded the boy sitting in front of her, where he’d been apparently poring over some book on Conjuration. It was then that she realized that this twenty-year-old was no boy. Gone were the years of Martin Gaius begging her to play at knights, or asking her to watch him cast some spell. It had been years since he held her hand as they walked, and his voice was that of his father’s.

He was growing a beard, and it looked good on him. By the Nine, Minerva could finally traces of both her and Martin in their son, seeing the familiar crinkle between his eyebrows that would appear whenever he was concentrating on a passage.

Minerva smiled at her son and asked, “It’s for Inga, isn’t it?”

He nodded, thumbing the green stone on the amulet. “I’ve been thinking about it, and…I just want to figure things out, since…Well, we  _are_ going home one day, aren’t we?”

She considered for a moment. True, leaving Cyrodiil had been a way to escape the new Emperor’s scrutiny, and it appeared that four years were enough to keep his attention at bay. But to return to the Imperial City, to that sight, after such a long time seemed a daunting task.

“…We might,” she told her son. “You know my parents’ house is still there, empty for the past twenty years. We couldn’t really stay in Chancellor Ocato’s home, we were guests.”

She still remembered the strange sensation of stepping into her childhood home the day before they departed for Skyrim, after having moved their belongings there from the manor close to Anvil. The last time she’d been there was the morning of the 25th of Last Seed, 3E433, and not ten minutes after she stepped out she was arrested.  

“You could just call it _your_ home, you know,” Guy said. “It’s been yours for ages.”

“In any case…yes, I do think we’re going home.” It felt bizarre to say it out loud. Minerva hadn’t thought of the Tribe’s camp as a home, but it was a place to belong for a little while. Gemile’s home was hers, never Minerva’s. The little farmhouse had felt more like a prison where Gemile had to live out every horrible day after losing her son.

Her son inquired with a nervous look, “So…do you think I should ask?”

Minerva looked at him, surprised at his eagerness for her approval. He had to know she loved Inga, with all of her heart. She thought of the girl as the daughter she could never have, and loved the smiles she brought to Guy’s face. She reached over with a smile and kissed her son’s head, looking him in the face. “Ask her, love. With my blessing.”

Her boy’s face lit up with joy momentarily, but then he looked at her seriously. “I…If she says yes, I’m going to tell her the truth about me.”

The smile must have dropped from Minerva’s face because he quickly added, “It’s not fair to keep this from her. It’s one thing to keep it secret from everyone, but…Lying to Inga, it’s…no way to start a marriage. And she’s a good person! She’d never tell anyone if I asked her not to.”

It was all the old instincts: protect Martin Gaius. Protect him from any remaining enemies to the Septims. Give him a false father and a false name until he was old enough to protect himself.

“…Things are different now, Gaius. Titus Mede has the Empire in his grasp. Who’s to say what he’ll do if he catches wind of you being Martin Septim’s son? He took the Empire by force, but you have a claim by right of blood.”

“I don’t care about the claim,” he insisted. “I won’t do anything to provoke Mede, and I won’t draw attention to myself. Just please, don’t ask me to lie to Inga.”

He looked so miserable and conflicted, and Minerva never wanted to see her son suffer. “…Only if she says yes. And…if you need me to, I will speak to her.”

-

Of course she couldn’t sleep, not after telling her son that he could tell even just one person of his heritage. Minerva trusted Erug go-Shen, and his daughter, but she doubted she would ever stop being afraid. She failed Martin, and refused to fail their son.

Minerva sat at the base of a tree that grew strong along the edges of the stronghold, whittling a piece of wood with her knife. She wasn’t making anything in particular but it gave her something to tire her out.

She wasn’t expecting the rustle of activity from one of the longhouses, nor the sound of Inga’s and Guy's quiet laughter.

“Alright, I’m out here. What do you want?”

“I…need you to close your eyes for a second.”

“Why?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Well…alright.”

Minerva bit her lip to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape her. So, he was going to surprise her with the Amulet?

“Alright…open them!”

A moment of silence followed by a sharp gasp. “Guy, you…Is that an…an Amulet of Mara?”

Now Minerva felt a little nervous. Inga _sounded_ happy…

“Y-yes…So…umm…Talos, I haven’t even rehearsed this, I…Inga, I love you, and…My mother and I are going back to Cyrodiil one day, but I can’t go back if I knew there was a chance that you and I might be together. I-I don’t have to go back, I mean…I can stay here, be a battlemage and…”

Minerva didn’t even hesitate to decide that if her son stayed, so would she.

Inga interrupted, “Then I’ll go with you.”

“…What?”

“You heard me. I will marry you, Martin Gaius, and if you go to Cyrodiil, then so will I.”

“…You’d leave the Tribe? Your father?”

“Who says I’ll never see them again? Guy, my mum traveled all over Tamriel before meeting my da. I _want_ to see Cyrodiil. I want to be with you.”

“Inga…Inga!”

She heard them come together in an embrace and closed her eyes in relief. Inga would come home with them.

“Wait…Inga, wait, there’s…There’s something I want to tell you. It…It’s important.”

Minerva froze, heart in her throat yet again.

“…What is it? Is it bad?”

“It’s about…me. Mostly my mother and…my father. He was…not who you think he was.”

“He was not a Blade?”

“No. He was… _Shit_ this was the part I _did_ rehearse!”

“Guy, you don’t have to tell me if it’s this–”

“No, you have to know. You deserve to know. I…I don’t want to lie to you. Not about this, not if we’re going to be together.”

“Alright.” Minerva heard movement. “Sit down and just take your time.”

“Right. Well…Okay. My mother is the second most-famous figure of the Oblivion Crisis. Who’s the first?”

“Martin Septim of course…”

“…”

“…”

“Exactly.”

“ _No._ ”

“Yes.”

“Your father is–!”

“Shh!! Yes, yes, _he’s_ my real father!”

Inga hissed, “The _last Septim Emperor_ of Tamriel is your father?! But…that means that you…You’re the Emperor, and not Titus Mede!”

“Wait, Inga, no I…Just…Oh gods, don’t get that look on your face, I’m begging you. I…I’m not an Emperor. I’m just the son of a dead Emperor.”

Minerva’s heart clenched painfully at the sound of such familiar words. _Who am I? Just the bastard son of a dead Emperor._

Her son went on, “I’m not a prince, and I don’t intend on becoming the Emperor. My mother kept this all secret because she was trying to protect me, and now…if Mede ever found out, he’d probably want to get rid of me…and any children I have. That’s why I needed you to know. I need you to know what you’re getting into. I’ll never let anything happen to you or our children, as long as I keep this secret. But…I’ll get it if you changed your mind.”

The silence that followed was painful but Minerva relaxed again when she heard Inga say, “I’m not changing my mind. I love you too, Gaius, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you either. I swear I won’t tell anyone about your father.”

“Oh, Inga…”

“…Your poor mother, though. Everyone’s heard about how she was in the Temple when Martin Septim transformed into the Avatar of Akatosh. Divines, she…had to watch it happen?”

“She did. She didn’t even know she was pregnant.”

“…No wonder she ignores everyone who flirts with her.”

Minerva chuckled softly to herself. It was true, she had no interest in anyone else. She’d given her love to Martin and that was where it stayed, and she was happy. She supposed this was what she’d earned in terms of joy. Her son, his future wife, this life protecting others. It was a good life. 


End file.
